System and method for congestion control in a communication system

ABSTRACT

An apparatus, system and method are introduced for controlling a user equipment in a first network with a resource control server. In one embodiment, the resource control server provides instructions over the second network to the user equipment of actions to be taken based at least in part on congestion within the first network.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/332,107 entitled “V2X CONGESTION CONTROL,” filed May5, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed, in general, to wireless communicationand, more specifically, to a system and method that facilitatesvehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication congestion control.

BACKGROUND

The area of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) is inrapid development. C-ITS means that vehicles, road infrastructure androad-traffic authorities exchange and act on various traffic-relatedinformation for the purpose of traffic safety (decrease of number ofaccidents) and traffic efficiency (less congestion, reduced traveltimes, less pollution and lower cost for infrastructure). The messagesto/from cars use radio communication. The cars can exchange informationmessages over direct radio communication links between the cars or viaan intermediate network.

One problem with the current solutions is the limited efficiency withthe congestion control. Since each car measures its local environment,it has no direct knowledge about how its transmissions interfere withother users (cars). While low in complexity level, there are manycongestion scenarios wherein the distributed congestion control isinefficient. There are also problems with the centralized congestioncontrol as part of a base station (e.g., an eNodeB (eNB) or a eNB typeof road side unit (RSU) (eNB-RSU). The problem with the centralizedcongestion control as part of the eNB is that the centralized congestioncontrol functionality is deployed in a multitude of eNBs and potentiallycoordinated among eNBs controlled by same and different mobile operator,which adds complexity and cost.

Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a new approach that overcomesthe deficiencies associated with the current solutions.

SUMMARY

These and other problems are generally solved or circumvented, andtechnical advantages are generally achieved, by advantageous embodimentsof the present invention, in which an apparatus, system and method areintroduced for controlling a user equipment (UE) in a first network witha resource control server. In one embodiment, the resource controlserver provides instructions over the second network to the userequipment of actions to be taken based at least in part on congestionwithin the first network.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present invention in order that the detaileddescription of the invention that follows may be better understood.Additional features and advantages of the invention will be describedhereinafter, which form the subject of the claims of the invention. Itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conceptionand specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures or processes for carrying outthe same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realizedby those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference isnow made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrated system level diagrams of embodiments ofcommunication systems;

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a user equipment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a base station;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a communicationsystem;

FIG. 7 illustrates the block diagram of the communication system of FIG.6 demonstrating an example operation thereof;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method ofoperating a user equipment; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method ofoperating a resource control server.

Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different FIGUREs generallyrefer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated, and may not beredescribed in the interest of brevity after the first instance. TheFIGUREs are drawn to illustrate the relevant aspects of exemplaryembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth.However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knowncircuits, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail inorder not to obscure the understanding of this description. Those ofordinary skill in the art, with the included descriptions, will be ableto implement appropriate functionality without undue experimentation.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment describedmay include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, butevery embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature,structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarilyreferring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature,structure, or characteristic is described in connection with anembodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of oneskilled in the art to implement such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or notexplicitly described.

In the following description and claims, the terms “coupled” and“connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used. It should beunderstood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other.“Coupled” is used to indicate that two or more elements, which may ormay not be in direct physical or electrical contact with each other,co-operate or interact with each other. “Connected” is used to indicatethe establishment of communication between two or more elements that arecoupled with each other.

An electronic device (e.g., an end station, a network device) stores andtransmits (internally and/or with other electronic devices over anetwork) code (composed of software instructions) and data usingmachine-readable media, such as non-transitory machine-readable media(e.g., machine-readable storage media such as magnetic disks; opticaldisks; read only memory; flash memory devices; phase change memory) andtransitory machine-readable transmission media (e.g., electrical,optical, acoustical or other form of propagated signals—such as carrierwaves, infrared signals). In addition, such electronic devices includeshardware such as a set of one or more processors coupled to one or moreother components, such as one or more non-transitory machine-readablemedia (to store code and/or data), user input/output devices (e.g., akeyboard, a touchscreen, and/or a display), and network connections (totransmit code and/or data using propagating signals). The coupling ofthe set of processors and other components is typically through one ormore busses and bridges (also termed as bus controllers). Thus, anon-transitory machine-readable medium of a given electronic devicetypically stores instructions for execution on one or more processors ofthat electronic device. One or more parts of an embodiment of theinvention may be implemented using different combinations of software,firmware, and/or hardware.

As used herein, a network node is a piece of networking equipment,including hardware and software, which communicatively interconnectsother equipment on the network (e.g., other network devices, endstations). Some network devices are “multiple services network devices”that provide support for multiple networking functions (e.g., routing,bridging, switching, Layer 2 aggregation, session border control,Quality of Service, and/or subscriber management), and/or providesupport for multiple application services (e.g., data, voice, andvideo). Subscriber end stations (e.g., servers, workstations, laptops,netbooks, palm tops, mobile phones, smartphones, multimedia phones,Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones, user equipment (UE),terminals, portable media players, GPS units, gaming systems, set-topboxes) access content/services provided over the Internet and/orcontent/services provided on virtual private networks (VPNs) overlaid on(e.g., tunneled through) the Internet. The content and/or services aretypically provided by one or more end stations (e.g., server endstations) belonging to a service or content provider or end stationsparticipating in a peer to peer service, and may include, for example,public webpages (e.g., free content, store fronts, search services),private webpages (e.g., username/password accessed webpages providingemail services), and/or corporate networks over VPNs. Typically,subscriber end stations are coupled (e.g., through customer premiseequipment coupled to an access network (wired or wirelessly)) to edgenetwork devices, which are coupled (e.g., through one or more corenetwork devices) to other edge network devices, which are coupled toother end stations (e.g., server end stations). One of ordinary skill inthe art would realize that any network device, end station or othernetwork apparatus can perform various functions described herein.

Embodiments described herein provide congestion control for avehicle-to-everything (V2X) system that is expected to be better thanthe congestion control provided by conventional technologies such asdedicated short-range communications (DSRC). These solutions may providea congestion control solution that is possible to use with any type ofradio access technology, as well as value when outside of networkcoverage. Embodiments are directed to congestion control that uses notonly radio input, but may also take other factors into account. Forexample, time-sensitive policies can be used based on known trafficpatterns. It is also possible to apply machine learning.

Embodiments herein are directed to maintaining efficiency advantages ofcentral congestion control without a need for deployment of centralizedcongestion control functionality in an eNB or eNB-RSU. This can beachieved by using commercial mobile broadband networks (e.g., GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM), Wideband Code Division MultipleAccess (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE) or others) to communicatecongestion instructions over-the-top (OTT) from a central congestioncontrol system (CCS) (also referred to as a resource control system(RCS)) managed by Intelligent Transport System (ITS) spectrumresponsible to the individual cars.

Optionally the same mobile networks are used for the cars to reporttheir individual, local measurements of congestion and interference.According to an embodiment, there may be a need to act on a time-scalemuch larger than individual transmission time intervals (TTIs). Suchsolutions can perform much better, and at a lower cost, thanconventional solutions. Various other features and advantages willbecome obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of thefollowing detailed description and drawings.

For obvious reasons, the messages to/from cars use radio communication.There are in principle two ways for two cars to exchange informationmessages, namely, over a direct radio communication link between thecars (method 1) and via an intermediate network (e.g., a commercialmobile broadband network, method 2).

Today, there are two standards for the method (1) above, the IEEE-basedstandard “DSRC” and the standard-in-making “3GPP V2X” (Third GenerationPartnership Program) for 3GPP R13 (Release 13) with improvements in R14(Release 14), which are incorporated by reference. Dedicated short-rangecommunications (“DSRC”) are typically one-way or two-way short-rangewireless communication channels between vehicles with a correspondingset of protocols and standards. V2X technology (“vehicle-to-everythingtechnology”) embedded in automobiles will enable cars to talk to eachother, react to road sensors and maybe humans and animals. The consensusin the industry is that method (1) and method (2) will both be used,either in isolation or in combination. One outstanding problem withmethod (1) is that when many cars are in the same geographic area, radiocommunication between the cars presents a risk for mutual radiointerference that leads to unreliable communication and eventually theloss of communication capability between the cars with (local) collapseof the C-ITS system.

Embodiments described herein provide innovative solutions to thisinterference and congestion problem for the direct car-to-carcommunication using dedicated short range communications or 3GPP V2X.The solutions also work for future similar (e.g., National Security andPublic Safety (NSPS)) systems. The solution further applies also tosystems where direct communication includes cars to/from roadinfrastructure.

Turning now to FIG. 1, illustrated is a system level diagram of anembodiment of a communication system. A radio unit 110 in each car suchas vehicle (e.g., a car) 120 autonomously measures interference, signalstrengths, message collisions, and more, to provide an environment forapplication of the principles of the present invention. This informationis then used in combination with local (within the car 120) congestionalgorithms to determine if an action shall be taken by that car tochange its transmission patterns for the purpose of releasingcongestion.

One problem is the limited efficiency of this type of congestioncontrol. Since each car measures its local environment, it has no directknowledge about how its transmissions interfere with other users (cars).As one example, a car in the middle of an intersection may find itselfseverely interfered with by cars in all the incoming streets (which itsees), while each interfering car only sees a subset of the other carsand hence does not detect interference. In this scenario (and in manysimilar situations), the interfering cars do not detect the congestionand do not take any actions to relieve the congestion. While simple inits design and benefits from a low complexity level in its architecture,there are many congestion scenarios wherein this kind of distributedcongestion algorithm is inefficient. In a real system, this translatesinto lower system capacity, since the system must not be loaded to thelevel where an unfavorable congestion situation may occur.

Turning now to FIG. 2, illustrated is a system level diagram of anembodiment of a communication system. The communication systemdemonstrates centralized congestion control as a part of an eNB or eNBRSU. In DSRC, this function is not specified and, in 3GPP, the centralinterference/congestion control function is presently assumed to be partof an eNB or eNB-RSU 210. The central interference/congestion controlfunction performs radio resource management for the direct communicationlink by assigning radio resources to the UEs to mitigate interference.Each car 220 receives the instructions from the eNB or eNB-RSU 210 andadapts its radio communication accordingly. The eNB or eNB-RSU 210communicates with network or application servers 240 for other purposes.

It can be noted that the second solution, the “centralized congestioncontrol as part of an eNB or eNB RSU” is an extension to howradio-resource management is done in 3GPP systems. The UEs (e.g., UEs invehicles) report radio-and-buffer status to the eNB and based thereon,the eNB schedules the transmission of each individual UE (vehicle). Thissolution has proven to be very efficient in systems that have basestations (e.g., eNBs).

There also exist problems with the centralized congestion control aspart of an eNB or eNB RSU. The centralized congestion control resolvescertain problems inherit in the distributed congestion solutiondescribed above. It does so by collecting global information, derivingor estimating which car interferes with other cars and controls thetransmission from the central radio resource management function. In onecommonly used design, this is done by traditional radio scheduling.Again, the problem with the centralized congestion control as part ofthe eNB is that the centralized congestion control functionality isdeployed in a multitude of eNBs and potentially coordinated among eNBscontrolled by same and different mobile operator, which adds complexityand cost.

Turning now to FIG. 3, illustrated is a system level diagram of anembodiment of a communication system. As illustrated in FIG. 3, a radiounit 310 in each car such as car 320 communicates with a centralizedserver 330 employing a cellular access point such as eNB 340 that mayprovide a commercial mobile broadband network such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE,or other technology. The commercial mobile broadband networkcommunicates congestion instructions over-the-top from a centralizedcongestion control system in the centralized server 330. The centralizedcongestion control system may be managed by ITS spectrum responsible tothe individual cars. Optionally, the same mobile networks are used forthe cars to report their individual, local measurements of congestionand interference. The cars 320 generally communicate with one another ofa first network (generally designated 350) and the cars 320 generallycommunicate with the centralized server 330 via a second network(generally designated 360) in this case including the eNB 340.

Turning now to FIG. 4, illustrated is a block diagram of an embodimentof a UE 400 (e.g., a wirelessly connected device, such as part of avehicle). The UE 400 includes a processing module (or processor) 410that controls the operation of the UE 400. The processing module 410 isconnected to a receiver or transceiver module 420 with associatedantenna(s) 430, which are used to receive signals from or both transmitsignals to and receive signals from a base station (such as the eNB 340in FIG. 3). To make use of discontinuous reception (DRX), the processingmodule 410 can be configured to deactivate the receiver or transceivermodule 420 for specified lengths of time. The UE 400 also includes amemory module (or memory) 440 that is connected to the processing module410 and that stores programs and other information and data required forthe operation of the UE 400. In some embodiments, the UE 400 mayoptionally include a satellite positioning system (e.g., globalpositioning system (GPS)) receiver module that can be used to determinethe position and speed of movement of the UE 400.

Turning now to FIG. 5 illustrated is a block diagram of an embodiment ofa base station 500 (e.g., a NodeB or an eNodeB, such as the eNB 340 inFIG. 3). It will be appreciated that although a macro eNB will not inpractice be identical in size and structure to a micro eNB, for thepurposes of illustration, the base stations 500 are assumed to includesimilar components. Thus, the base station 500 includes a processingmodule (or processor) 510 that controls the operation of the basestation 500. The processing module 510 is connected to a transceivermodule 520 with associated antenna(s) 530 that are used to transmitsignals to, and receive signals from, mobile devices (e.g., in vehicles)in the network. The base station 500 also includes a memory module (ormemory) 540 that is connected to the processing module 510 and thatstores program and other information and data required for the operationof the base station 500.

The base station 500 also includes components and/or circuitry 550 forallowing the base station 500 to exchange information with other basestations 500 (for example via an X2 interface) and components and/orcircuitry 560 for allowing the base station 500 to exchange informationwith nodes in the core network (for example via the S1 interface). Itwill be appreciated that base stations for use in other types of network(e.g., Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) or WidebandCode Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) radio access network (RAN)) willinclude similar components to those shown in FIG. 5 and appropriateinterface circuitry 550, 560 for enabling communications with the othernetwork nodes in those types of networks (e.g., other base stations,mobility management nodes and/or nodes in the core network). Anotheruser equipment could act as a node, according to certain embodiments.

In some embodiments a more general term “network node” is used and itcan correspond to any type of radio network node or any network node,which communicates with a UE and/or with another network node. Examplesof network nodes are NodeB, Master eNB (MeNB), Secondary eNB (SeNB), anetwork node belonging to a Master Cell Group (MCG) or a Secondary CellGroup (SCG), a base station (BS), a multi-standard radio (MSR) radionode such as an MSR BS, an evolved Node B (eNodeB), a networkcontroller, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller(BSC), a relay, a donor node controlling relay, a base transceiverstation (BTS), an access point (AP), transmission points, transmissionnodes, a remote radio unit (RRU), a remote radio head (RRH), nodes in adistributed antenna system (DAS), a core network node (e.g., MobileSwitching Center (MSC)), a Mobility Management Entity (MME), operationsand maintenance (O&M), Operation Support System (OSS), Self-OrganizingNetwork (SON), positioning node (e.g., Evolved Servicing Mobile LocationCenter (E-SMLC), Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT), etc.), and anapplication server including a congestion (or resource) control server.The aforementioned “network nodes” include the subsystems, or onesthereof, as illustrated and described with respect to FIG. 5.

In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms UE or a wireless device areused interchangeably. The UE herein can be any type of wireless devicecapable of communicating with a network node or another UE over radiosignals. The UE may also be a radio communication device, target device,device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capable of machine tomachine (M2M) communication, low-cost and/or low-complexity UE, a sensorequipped with UE, tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embeddedequipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), universal serial bus(USB) dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things(IoT) device, or a Narrowband IoT (NB-IOT) device, etc. Also in someembodiments, the generic term “radio network node” is used. It can beany kind of a radio network node that may include any of a base station,a radio base station, a base transceiver station, a base stationcontroller, a network controller, a radio network controller (RNC), anevolved Node B (eNB), a Node B, a Multi-cell/multicast CoordinationEntity (MCE), a relay node, an access point, a radio access point, aRemote Radio Unit (RRU), and a Remote Radio Head (RRH).

The congestion control server (CCS) (also referred to as a resourcecontrol server (RCS) could in one embodiment be located in anapplication layer server (e.g., managed by the spectrum owner) locatedoutside the radio access network. The CCS could in another embodiment belocated in the core network. The CCS may be implemented as a trustedentity and the messages between UE and CCS may be verified usingcertificates or similar approach. The CCS is functionality implementedin a network node that controls parameters related to traffic generationand/or its radio transmission. Thus, the CCS controlsresources/congestion in a communication network (e.g., mobile network)located, for instance, in the core network (e.g., outside the mobilenetwork) and/or in an application layer associated therewith.

The spectrum owner could either be the owner of a licensed spectrum, orin the case of unlicensed spectrum it could be an entity managing thespectrum used for a specific purpose (i.e., dedicated spectrum such asfor ITS purposes). An example of a spectrum owner in the context of thisdisclosure could be Road Traffic Authorities or an operator assignedwith task. According to a first embodiment, OTT congestion control ismanaged by a central entity, herein referred to as the congestioncontrol server (CCS) or resource control server (RCS) as providedherein.

The embodiments that follow are written from a perspective where LTE isused as the radio access technology (hence LTE specific interfaces,protocols and acronyms are used), but the congestion control solutiondescribed herein may be implemented as an over-the-top service either inLTE, WCDMA, GSM, IEEE specification 802.11p (e.g., DSRC/ITS-G5), WiFi,5G (Fifth Generation of a cellular system) or other similar type ofnetworks, which are incorporated herein by reference. In one embodiment,the CCS may provide the UE with policy information about how to behavein case of congestion when outside of macro coverage. The policy maycontain information about when (e.g., what triggers/timers to use) theUE should transition to out of coverage mode for congestion controlhandling. The CCS may also provide the UE with a default behavior forwhen there is no congestion (such policy may apply regardless of macrocoverage). The congestion control function may collect statistics basedon typical traffic density at different hours of the day. It can alsoreceive measurement reports from UEs.

Potential functions in the congestion control function include a requestfor the UE to increase/decrease messages (e.g., Co-operative AwarenessMessage (CAM)—frequency: 1), either by a specific value orincrease/decrease (no defined amount). As an example, the request maystop the CAM temporarily or with longest possible periodicity when theITS server has concluded that there is a traffic jam and cars are notreally moving (so the CAM may be unnecessary in these circumstances).Another function is to request the UE to use a Uu interface for aspecific message type (e.g., all Decentralized EnvironmentalNotification Message (DENM) traffic should go on Uu). Another functionis to request the UE to use specific resources or pool of resources inPC5 (sidelink) spectrum. Another function is to request the UE to dropcertain messages, either until notified to do otherwise, or during aspecific duration.

The congestion control may be associated to some geographicalinformation. For instance, the CCS may provide a mapping betweengeographical position and allowed/preferred traffic and congestionparameters similar to the ones discussed above. Slow moving trafficcould be used to understand that congestion is occurring (especially inthe future when most cars support PC5). The CCS could inform OEM cloudsto distribute congestion control information to vehicles in a certainarea. The CCS may receive measurements (e.g., on congestion level basedon radio measurements) from a UE. The CCS may then decide about how tohandle the congestion in a specific area. The congestion reporting couldbe done either by a UE or a UE type RSU. It could potentially also bedone by an application in a DSRC RSU.

A variant of the solution described below could be that the CCSinitiates an Evolved Multimedia Broadcast-Multicast Service/Single-CellPoint-to-Multipoint (eMBMS/SCPTM) broadcast, i.e., provides the contentto the mobile network operator (MNO) who will distribute it on thesuitable broadcast channel. For this solution to work, the UE providesE-UTRAN Cell External Identification (ECGI) or similar geo-locationinformation to CCS.

In one embodiment, the UE should report congestion periodically (i.e.,whether it experiences congestion or not). In another embodiment, the UEconcludes that the PC5 congestion is above a certain threshold wherethis threshold may be, for example, configured by the CCS. As anexample, the UE may begin reporting when the channel occupancy of theradio resources is above 50 percent. The reporting from the UE to theCCS takes place on, for instance, the Uu interface (using LTE as anexample), while the congestion analyzed/reported is related to thePC5/sidelink/other interface used by the UE.

After taking action from the CCS to reduce congestion, the UE may returnto its default ITS behavior (when in a non-congested area) either aftera pre-defined/configured amount of time, or after having traveled apre-defined/configured distance from the location where the congestionreduction action was received. The UE may in one embodiment receive thevalidity time/distance of the congestion reduction action as part of themessage describing the necessary action. The UE may in anotherembodiment ramp up towards its default behavior similar to transmissioncontrol protocol (TCP).

The UE should report to the CCS when it leaves a congested area or whenthe congestion falls below a certain threshold. The CCS may in oneembodiment receive information from other sources (such as other serversor applications) about potential upcoming congestion, e.g., there is apolice car coming that will generate a lot of CAM. The CCS may in oneembodiment use additional information (i.e., not provided by a UE) fromfor example other servers (e.g., information about UE density, trafficflow, rush hour, etc.) to do preventive congestion control.

Turning now to FIG. 6, illustrated is a block diagram of an embodimentof a communication system. The communication system includes a first UE610 including a radio access network (RAN) interface 620, a congestionapplication (CA) 625 and a device-to-device (D2D) interface (e.g., a PC5interface) 630. The communication system includes a second UE 660including a RAN interface 670, a CA 675 and a D2D interface (e.g., a PC5interface) 680. The first and second UEs 610, 660 are coupled to a RAN640 via the corresponding RAN interfaces 620, 670. The first and secondUEs 610, 660 communicate directly through the corresponding D2Dinterfaces 630, 680. The RAN 640 is also coupled to a resource controlserver (RCS) 650, again also referred to as a congestion control server.The first and second UEs 610, 660 generally communicate with one anotherof a first network (e.g., direct communication network (DCN) 685) andthe first and second UEs 610, 660 generally communicate with the RCS 650via a second network (e.g., the RAN 640).

Turning now to FIG. 7, illustrated is the block diagram of thecommunication system of FIG. 6 demonstrating an example operationthereof. In the example method that follows, the steps will beillustrated with sequence numbers (SN) within the communication system.With respect to a step SN1, a radio associated with the first UE 610measures congestion on the D2D interface 630 directed to, in this case,the second UE 660. The CA 625 in the first UE 610 receives thecongestion measurements and creates a measurement report, during a stepSN2. The CA 625 provides the measurement report to the RCS 650 via theRAN interface 620 and RAN 640, during a step SN3. In doing so, the firstUE 610 informs a spectrum owner of congestion via a Uu interface, e.g.,real time availability (RTA) cloud (of an RTA server), and its position(for example, but not limited to, longitude/latitude).

The RCS 650 (a related application) analyzes the current congestionsituation in a specific area and concludes possible actions that need tobe taken by the UEs in this area, during a step general designated SN4.The RCS 650 informs the first UE 610 of actions to be taken inaccordance with the CA 625, during a step SN5. The CA 625 of the firstUE 610 applies the actions, during a step general designated SN6. Inaccordance therewith, the first UE 610 adjusts its consumption of theradio resources by, for example, but not limited to, changing messageformatting, and/or dropping certain messages (e.g., based on priority orpolicy) and/or adjusting transmission periodicity/frequency of messages.The spectrum owner's application server (the RCS 650) may inform thefirst and second UEs 610, 660 (e.g., via OEM clouds) about thecongestion and desired actions. The OEM cloud is responsible for pushingthe information about changes in the radio resource consumption on PC5towards their own relevant UEs (e.g., based on location). Thus, the RCS650 may provide information for radio resource consumption to the CA 675of the second UE 660 via the RAN 640 and the RAN interface 670 forapplication by the second UE 660, during a step SN7.

Turning now to FIG. 8, illustrates is a flow diagram of an embodiment ofa method 800 of operating a user equipment (for instance, as a part ofan onboard communication system of a vehicle). The method 800 begins ata start step of module 805. The method 800 includes receivinginstructions (e.g., broadcast) over a second network from a resourcecontrol server (RCS) of actions to be taken based at least in part oncongestion within the first network in a step or module 810. The userequipment then applies the instructions in a step or module 815.

The user equipment initiates connectivity within the first network in astep or module 820. In a step or module 825, the user equipment measurescongestion on a channel of the first network. The user equipment maymeasure the congestion by measuring channel occupancy of one or moresubsets of physical resources associated with the channel. The channeloccupancy may be represented by reference signal received power (RSRP),received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or reference signal receivedquality (RSRQ) associated with said channel. The one or more subsets ofphysical resources may belong to one or more pool of resources forcommunication in the first network. The user equipment may measure thecongestion by measuring a number of received messages during a period oftime.

The user equipment produces a measurement report representing thecongestion in a step or module 830. The measurement report may includeauxiliary user equipment data such as a location of the user equipment.In a step or module 835, the user equipment provides the measurementreport over the second network to the resource control server (e.g.,when the congestion passes a congestion threshold). The user equipmentstops providing the measurement report when the congestion falls below acongestion threshold. In addition, the measurement report may beprovided periodically. The user equipment can provide the measurementreport following configuration of the first network and stops providingthe measurement report following de-configuration of the first network.

The user equipment receives instructions (e.g., broadcast) over thesecond network from the resource control server of actions to be takenbased at least in part on the measurement report in a step or module840. The instructions may be based at least in part on anothermeasurement report from another user equipment, wherein the resourcecontrol server may receive the another measurement report over a thirdnetwork from the another user equipment. The user equipment then appliesthe instructions in a step or module 845. The method 800 ends at a stopstep or module 850. It should be understood that ones of the previoussteps may be omitted or the steps re-ordered based on the particularapplication. For instance, the method 800 may terminate following thestep 815 described above, or the steps 810, 815 may be omitted dependingon the application.

Turning now to FIG. 9, illustrates is a flow diagram of an embodiment ofa method 900 of operating a resource control server (RCS). The method900 of operating the resource control server that controls a userequipment (UE, for instance, as a part of an onboard communicationsystem of a vehicle) in a first network begins at a start step of module905. The method 900 includes providing instructions (e.g., broadcast)over a second network to the user equipment of actions to be taken basedat least in part on congestion within the first network at a step ofmodule 910.

In an embodiment, the user equipment produces a measurement reportrepresenting congestion on a channel of the first network. Thecongestion may be represented by channel occupancy of one or moresubsets of physical resources associated with the channel. The channeloccupancy may be represented by reference signal received power (RSRP),received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or reference signal receivedquality (RSRQ) associated with said channel. The one or more subsets ofphysical resources may belong to one or more pool of resources forcommunication in the first network. The congestion may be represented bya number of received messages during a period of time.

The method 900 includes receiving an indication over the second networkthat the user equipment is operating within the first network at a stepor module 915. At a step or module 920, the resource control serverreceives the measurement report over the second network from the userequipment. The measurement report may include auxiliary user equipmentdata such as a location of the user equipment. The resource controlserver stops receiving the measurement report when the congestion fallsbelow a congestion threshold. In addition, the measurement report may bereceived periodically. The resource control server may receivemeasurement report following configuration of the first network andstops receiving the measurement report following de-configuration of thefirst network.

The resource control server then provides instructions (e.g., broadcast)over the second network to the user equipment of actions to be takenbased at least in part on the measurement report at a step or module925. At a step or module 930, the resource control server receivesanother measurement report over from another user equipment (potentiallyover a third network). The resource control server then providesinstructions (e.g., broadcast) over the second network to the userequipment of actions to be taken based at least in part on the anothermeasurement report at a step or module 935. The method 900 also includesproviding the instructions (e.g., broadcast) to the another userequipment of actions to be taken based at least in part on the anothermeasurement report at a step or module 940. The method 900 ends at astop step or module 945. It should be understood that ones of theprevious steps may be omitted or the steps re-ordered based on theparticular application. For instance, the method 900 may terminatefollowing the step 910 described above, or the step 910 may be omitted,or the steps 930, 935, 940 may be omitted depending on the application.

The instructions mentioned above may be applied to a transmission of anintelligent transport system message over the first network including,without limitation, a cooperative awareness message (CAM), a basicsafety message (BSM) or a decentralized environmental notificationmessage (DENM). The instructions may take into account a time of dayand/or temporary road work. The instructions may include a congestioncontrol policy including, without limitation, priority levels based on atype of message, modifying a format of a type of message, discarding atype of message, adjusting a transmission periodicity, adjusting afrequency of a type of message, specifying an interface for a type ofmessage, adjusting a message priority pursuant to a road trafficauthority, instructing use of a specific resource or pool of resourcesof the first network (e.g., for a type of message), instructing use of aspecific resource or pool of resources in a PC5 spectrum, and behaviorwhen the user equipment is out of range of the second network. Thecongestion control policy can include different congestion controlpolicies for different levels of congestion.

The first network may accommodate direct communication between the userequipment and another user equipment, and the second network mayaccommodate cellular communication between the user equipment and theresource control server. The first network may employ unlicensedspectrum for communication between the user equipment and another userequipment, and the second network may employ licensed spectrum forcellular communication between the user equipment and the congestioncontrol server.

As a result of the foregoing embodiments, a congestion control for a V2Xsystem is provided, which is expected to be better than the congestioncontrol provided by conventional technologies, e.g., DSRC. Thesesolutions may provide a congestion control solution that is possible touse with any type of radio access technology, as well as value whenoutside of network coverage.

While processes in the figures and description may show a particularorder of operations performed by certain embodiments of the invention,it should be understood that such order is exemplary (e.g., alternativeembodiments may perform the operations in a different order, combinecertain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.).

As described above, the exemplary embodiments provide both a method andcorresponding apparatus consisting of various modules providingfunctionality for performing the steps of the method. The modules may beimplemented as hardware (embodied in one or more chips including anintegrated circuit such as an application specific integrated circuit),or may be implemented as software or firmware for execution by aprocessor. In particular, in the case of firmware or software, theexemplary embodiments can be provided as a computer program productincluding a computer readable storage medium embodying computer programcode (i.e., software or firmware) thereon for execution by the computerprocessor. The computer readable storage medium may be non-transitory(e.g., magnetic disks; optical disks; read only memory; flash memorydevices; phase-change memory) or transitory (e.g., electrical, optical,acoustical or other forms of propagated signals-such as carrier waves,infrared signals, digital signals, etc.). The coupling of a processorand other components is typically through one or more busses or bridges(also termed bus controllers). The storage device and signals carryingdigital traffic respectively represent one or more non-transitory ortransitory computer readable storage medium. Thus, the storage device ofa given electronic device typically stores code and/or data forexecution on the set of one or more processors of that electronic devicesuch as a controller.

Although the embodiments and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope thereof as defined by the appended claims. For example, many ofthe features and functions discussed above can be implemented insoftware, hardware, or firmware, or a combination thereof. Also, many ofthe features, functions, and steps of operating the same may bereordered, omitted, added, etc., and still fall within the broad scopeof the various embodiments.

Moreover, the scope of the various embodiments is not intended to belimited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine,manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps describedin the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate from the disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed, that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized as well. Accordingly, the appendedclaims are intended to include within their scope such processes,machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

1. A method of operating a user equipment operable in a first network,comprising: receiving instructions over a second network from a resourcecontrol server of actions to be taken based at least in part oncongestion within said first network; applying said instructions;initiating connectivity within a first network; measuring congestion ona channel of a first network; producing a measurement reportrepresenting said congestion; and providing said measurement report oversaid second network to said resource control server, wherein saidinstructions from said resource control server are based at least inpart on said measurement report.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The method as recitedin claim 1 wherein said measuring congestion comprises measuring channeloccupancy of one or more subsets of physical resources associated withsaid channel.
 4. The method as recited in claim 3 wherein said channeloccupancy is represented by reference signal received power (RSRP),received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or reference signal receivedquality (RSRQ) associated with said channel.
 5. The method as recited inclaim 3 wherein said one or more subsets of physical resources belong toone or more pool of resources for communication in said first network.6. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said measuring congestioncomprises measuring a number of received messages during a period oftime.
 7. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said measurementreport comprises auxiliary user equipment data comprising a location ofsaid user equipment. 8-9. (canceled)
 10. The method as recited in claim1 wherein said user equipment provides said measurement report followingconfiguration of said first network and stops providing said measurementreport following de-configuration of said first network.
 11. The methodas recited in claim 1 wherein said user equipment stops providing saidmeasurement report when said congestion falls below a congestionthreshold. 12-14. (canceled)
 15. The method as recited in claim 1wherein said first network employs unlicensed spectrum for communicationbetween said user equipment and another user equipment, and said secondnetwork 4 s) employs licensed spectrum for cellular communicationbetween said user equipment and said congestion control server. 16-19.(canceled)
 20. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein saidinstructions comprise a congestion control policy.
 21. The method asrecited in claim 20 wherein said congestion control policy comprises atleast one of: priority levels based on a type of message, modifying aformat of a type of message, discarding a type of message, adjusting atransmission periodicity, adjusting a frequency of a type of message,specifying an interface for a type of message, adjusting a messagepriority pursuant to a road traffic authority, instructing use of aspecific resource or pool of resources of said first network,instructing use of a specific resource or pool of resources in a PC5spectrum, and behavior when said user equipment is out of range of saidsecond network. 22-23. (canceled)
 24. A user equipment operable in afirst network, comprising: a processor; and a memory including computerprogram code, wherein said processor, said memory, and said computerprogram code are collectively operable to: receive instructions over asecond network from a resource control server of actions to be takenbased at least in part on congestion within said first network; applysaid instructions; initiate connectivity within a first network; measurecongestion on a channel of a first network; produce a measurement reportrepresenting said congestion; and provide said measurement report oversaid second network to said resource control server, wherein saidinstructions from said resource control server are based at least inpart on said measurement report. 25-69. (canceled)
 70. A resourcecontrol server controlling a user equipment in a first network,comprising: a processor; and a memory including computer program code,wherein said processor, said memory and said computer program code arecollectively operable to: provide instructions over a second network tosaid user equipment of actions to be taken based at least in part oncongestion within said first network; and receive an indication oversaid second network that said user equipment is operating within saidfirst network; receive said measurement report over said second networkfrom said user equipment; and provide said instructions over said secondnetwork to said user equipment of actions to be taken based at least inpart on said measurement report.
 71. (canceled)
 72. The resource controlserver as recited in claim 70 wherein said congestion is represented bychannel occupancy of one or more subsets of physical resourcesassociated with said channel.
 73. The resource control server as recitedin claim 72 wherein said channel occupancy is represented by referencesignal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI)or reference signal received quality (RSRQ) associated with saidchannel.
 74. The resource control server as recited in claim 72 whereinsaid one or more subsets of physical resources belong to one or morepool of resources for communication in said first network.
 75. Theresource control server as recited in claim 70 wherein said congestionis represented by a number of received messages during a period of time.76-83. (canceled)
 84. The resource control server as recited in claim 70wherein said first network employs unlicensed spectrum for communicationbetween said user equipment and another user equipment, and said secondnetwork employs licensed spectrum for cellular communication betweensaid user equipment and said congestion control server. 85-92.(canceled)